A tribute to Rick Nash's 1,000th NHL game

A true goal-scorer by nature, Rick Nash has lived up to the expectations that came with being the No. 1 draft pick, which happened when the Columbus Blue Jackets called his name first at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

A true goal-scorer by nature, Rick Nash has lived up to the expectations that came with being the No. 1 draft pick, which happened when the Columbus Blue Jackets called his name first at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Fittingly, Nash scored his first NHL goal in his debut with the team October 10th that year, and posted a 17-goal rookie campaign, which culminated in 39 points.

The very next season, Nash tied for the league lead with 41 goals to share the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy alongside Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk. Nash separated himself from the pack, however, by becoming the youngest player ever to lead the NHL in goals at just 19 years old.

All the while, Nash has also delivered internationally. He scored a tournament-high nine goals at the 2005 World Championship to help Canada take home a silver medal, and two years later, was named MVP of the same tournament in a victorious effort after scoring twice in the gold medal final. As many Canadians recall, Nash was also a member of the 2010 and 2014 gold medal-winning Olympic teams.

The six-foot-four, 211-pound Brampton, Ontario native became the face of the franchise and earned the ‘C’ on his chest for the Blue Jackets in 2008, and was named the NHL Foundation Player Award winner in 2009. Nash scored 289 goals over nine seasons in Columbus, and has surpassed 400 NHL career goals as a six-time All-Star. His most recent All-Star Game appearance came in 2015 with the New York Rangers, three seasons after being sent to Broadway in a five-player deal with the Blue Jackets.

To date, Nash has accumulated 772 points over his career – and on October 26, he becomes the 312th player in NHL history to skate in 1,000 games.